Ah, Christmastime in New York City. The cute street carolers, the festive department store window displays, the… terrifying blue light looming over Queens?
New Yorkers were confused and alarmed on Thursday night when a power plant explosion occurred in Astoria, Queens and casted an unnatural display onto the city skies.
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Twitter was ripe with theories after residents posted images of the teal stratosphere, with freaked out users speculating everything from an alien attack to a Cthulhu awakening.
Thankfully, New York Police Department informed the masses that they need not anticipate a J.J. Abrams-style disaster. The light was merely the result of a transformer explosion at a Con Edison power plant:
Phew!
Con Edison reps took to Twitter afterward to describe the incident as a “brief electrical fire” involving electrical transformers that caused a “transmission dip.”
The explosion caused no injuries, though it impacted local subway services, caused minor power outages, and sparked quite a few freak-outs on social media. See some funny responses (below).
[Image via CBS News/YouTube.]